November hours for DL

[GatorChris]

I was looking at the park hours for the week/weekend of our trip. Looks like DCA will have a 10am opening the first full week of November. Is there ever a time of year when a 10am open is acceptable? Rhetorical, because the answer is obvious. We were there last November and it was as busy as any summer day.

And then I noticed that the weekend of Nov 11/12, the parks open at 9am. For reals??? 9am on a Saturday and Sunday? Every other weekend of the year, it's an 8am open. That's going to make getting into the parks that morning absolute madness. Especially since that's the start of Christmas season. I have a feeling it's because they have those races and they need the parks closed to the paying customers for all the runners to get through. But talk about bad timing. Start Christmas season, attract more crowds ... keep the parks closed that first hour. Brilliant.

 

[mom2rtk]

I was just looking at last year's hours for late November/early December. It looks like both DL and DCA opened at 10 AM the M, T, W following Thanksgiving. My experience is that even in low crowd times, the backup for security and entrance are awful on those late start days.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Yes. These are standard November hours. This is when we usually go.

Our kids wake early and the youngest currently starts nap at 12-1. The 10 am open just doesn't work for us. We're going to try a march trip this upcoming year. I'm not looking forward to what I expect will be higher crowds. But it's an experiment! We're there for a week, and plan to be in the parks around 5 hours a day.

 

[audrianna890]

Hmmmm... What are hours normally like over Thanksgiving?

 

[mom2rtk]

8 AM regular open:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneyland/park-hours.cfm?month=11&year=2016

 

[figment_jii]

It looks like DL/DCA opens at 8:00 am on 4the and 5th and then at 9:00 am on 11the and 12th. The later opening is consistent with last year and probably has to do with the Super Hero Marathon on the 11th and 12th. I recall the parks opening later due to the marathon route/running the year I was there as well.

 

[GatorChris]

Yes. These are standard November hours. This is when we usually go.

There was a time when 10am starts made sense. Back in 2013 and 2014 in mid-Nov, it worked great. There was plenty of time to do everything because the parks weren't loaded. And we LOVED a 10am start time because we could sleep in. But the last two years in November, it's been crazy, thanks in part to the races, but in general the "off-season" times have become much more crowded. A 10am start should be a part of Disneyland history. Never again.

It looks like DL/DCA opens at 8:00 am on 4th and 5th and then at 9:00 am on 11th and 12th. The later opening is consistent with last year and probably has to do with the Super Hero Marathon on the 11th and 12th. I recall the parks opening later due to the marathon route/running the year I was there as well.

Yeah, I put that together. Frustrating. First, the hotels all get sucked up and the prices go sky high. And now the hours are reduced! That ain't right. Should I return to DL in the future, mid-November will be far down the list. Had Disney offered me that free 13th month on my AP, I'd already be booked for December.

 

[Glynis4]

We are going nov 2-8, and will be starting at Disneyland every day (except Saturday, when DCA opens at 8). I was actually quite happy with the hours posted this year, last year DL only opened at 10am the first few days of November, and this year it's 9am, so I'll be getting an extra hour I wasn't expecting!